diff --git a/app/examples/age_estimation.cpp b/app/examples/age_estimation.cpp
index 95b17eb..592241b 100644
--- a/app/examples/age_estimation.cpp
+++ b/app/examples/age_estimation.cpp
@@ -29,9 +29,7 @@
 
 static void printTemplate(const br::Template &t)
 {
-    printf("%s age: %d\n",
-           qPrintable(t.file.fileName()),
-           t.file.get<int>("Label"));
+    printf("%s age: %d\n", qPrintable(t.file.fileName()), int(t.file.label()));
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
diff --git a/app/examples/face_recognition_evaluation.cpp b/app/examples/face_recognition_evaluation.cpp
index 58f2337..ebf6462 100644
--- a/app/examples/face_recognition_evaluation.cpp
+++ b/app/examples/face_recognition_evaluation.cpp
@@ -55,14 +55,12 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
     // Evaluate the performance of OpenBR's FaceRecognition and a COTS face recognition system.
     br_eval("FaceRecognition_MEDS.mtx", "MEDS.mask", "Algorithm_Dataset/FaceRecognition_MEDS.csv");
-    br_eval("../data/MEDS/simmat/COTS_MEDS.mtx", "MEDS.mask", "Algorithm_Dataset/COTS_MEDS.csv");
 
     // The '_' character has special significance and is used to populate plot legends.
     // Requires R installation, see documentation of br_plot for details.
-    const char *files[2];
+    const char *files[1];
     files[0] = "Algorithm_Dataset/FaceRecognition_MEDS.csv";
-    files[1] = "Algorithm_Dataset/COTS_MEDS.csv";
-    br_plot(2, files, "MEDS", true);
+    br_plot(1, files, "MEDS", true);
 
     br_finalize();
     return 0;
diff --git a/app/examples/gender_estimation.cpp b/app/examples/gender_estimation.cpp
index f24ec3a..6013c3a 100644
--- a/app/examples/gender_estimation.cpp
+++ b/app/examples/gender_estimation.cpp
@@ -29,9 +29,7 @@
 
 static void printTemplate(const br::Template &t)
 {
-    printf("%s gender: %s\n",
-           qPrintable(t.file.fileName()),
-           t.file.get<int>("Label") == 1 ? "Female" : "Male");
+    printf("%s gender: %s\n", qPrintable(t.file.fileName()), t.file.label() == 1 ? "Female" : "Male");
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
diff --git a/openbr/core/bee.cpp b/openbr/core/bee.cpp
index 4a34c1b..f24a6a2 100644
--- a/openbr/core/bee.cpp
+++ b/openbr/core/bee.cpp
@@ -58,24 +58,18 @@ FileList BEE::readSigset(const QString &sigset, bool ignoreMetadata)
         QString name = d.attribute("name");
         while (!fileNode.isNull()) {
             // Looping through files
-            File file;
+            File file("", name);
 
             QDomElement e = fileNode.toElement();
             QDomNamedNodeMap attributes = e.attributes();
             for (int i=0; i<attributes.length(); i++) {
-                QString key = attributes.item(i).nodeName();
-                QString value = attributes.item(i).nodeValue();
-
-                if (key == "file-name") {
-                    File newFile(value, name);
-                    newFile.append(file);
-                    file = newFile;
-                } else if (!ignoreMetadata) {
-                    file.set(key, value);
-                }
+                const QString key = attributes.item(i).nodeName();
+                const QString value = attributes.item(i).nodeValue();
+                if      (key == "file-name") file.name = value;
+                else if (!ignoreMetadata)    file.set(key, value);
             }
 
-            if (file.isNull()) qFatal("Empty file-name in %s.", qPrintable(sigset));
+            if (file.name.isEmpty()) qFatal("Missing file-name in %s.", qPrintable(sigset));
             fileList.append(file);
 
             fileNode = fileNode.nextSibling();
@@ -99,7 +93,7 @@ void BEE::writeSigset(const QString &sigset, const br::FileList &files, bool ign
         QStringList metadata;
         if (!ignoreMetadata)
             foreach (const QString &key, file.localKeys()) {
-                if ((key == "Index") || (key == "Label")) continue;
+                if ((key == "Index") || (key == "Subject")) continue;
                 metadata.append(key+"=\""+QtUtils::toString(file.value(key))+"\"");
             }
         lines.append("\t<biometric-signature name=\"" + file.subject() +"\">");
diff --git a/openbr/core/classify.cpp b/openbr/core/classify.cpp
index 6155f8a..fd4cfae 100644
--- a/openbr/core/classify.cpp
+++ b/openbr/core/classify.cpp
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ void br::EvalClassification(const QString &predictedInput, const QString &truthI
         }
     }
 
-    QSharedPointer<Output> output(Output::make("", FileList() << "Label" << "Count" << "Precision" << "Recall" << "F-score", FileList(counters.size())));
+    QSharedPointer<Output> output(Output::make("", FileList() << "Subject" << "Count" << "Precision" << "Recall" << "F-score", FileList(counters.size())));
 
     int tpc = 0;
     int fnc = 0;
diff --git a/openbr/core/core.cpp b/openbr/core/core.cpp
index bf1b959..e9715a5 100644
--- a/openbr/core/core.cpp
+++ b/openbr/core/core.cpp
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ struct AlgorithmCore
         const bool hasComparer = !distance.isNull();
         out << hasComparer;
         if (hasComparer) distance->store(out);
-        out << Globals->classes;
+        out << Globals->subjects;
 
         // Compress and save to file
         QtUtils::writeFile(model, data, -1);
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ struct AlgorithmCore
         transform->load(in);
         bool hasDistance; in >> hasDistance;
         if (hasDistance) distance->load(in);
-        in >> Globals->classes;
+        in >> Globals->subjects;
     }
 
     File getMemoryGallery(const File &file) const
diff --git a/openbr/gui/classifier.cpp b/openbr/gui/classifier.cpp
index 517f04b..d93b818 100644
--- a/openbr/gui/classifier.cpp
+++ b/openbr/gui/classifier.cpp
@@ -44,13 +44,13 @@ void Classifier::_classify(File file)
 
         if (algorithm == "GenderClassification") {
             key = "Gender";
-            value = (f.get<int>("Label", 0) == 0 ? "Male" : "Female");
+            value = (f.label() == 0 ? "Male" : "Female");
         } else if (algorithm == "AgeRegression") {
             key = "Age";
-            value = QString::number(int(f.get<float>("Label", 0)+0.5)) + " Years";
+            value = QString::number(int(f.label()+0.5)) + " Years";
         } else {
             key = algorithm;
-            value = f.get<QString>("Label");
+            value = QString::number(f.label());
         }
         break;
     }
diff --git a/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp b/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
index e9076ba..b7f0058 100644
--- a/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
+++ b/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
@@ -132,33 +132,11 @@ QVariant File::parse(const QString &value)
     if (ok) return point;
     const QRectF rect = QtUtils::toRect(value, &ok);
     if (ok) return rect;
-
-    /* We assume that if the value starts with '0'
-       then it was probably intended to be a string UID
-       and that it's numerical value is not relevant. */
-    if (!value.startsWith('0') || (value == "0")) {
-        const float f = value.toFloat(&ok);
-        if (ok) return f;
-    }
-
+    const float f = value.toFloat(&ok);
+    if (ok) return f;
     return value;
 }
 
-void File::set(const QString &key, const QVariant &value)
-{
-    if (key == "Label") {
-        const QString valueString = value.toString();
-        if (!Globals->classes.contains(valueString)) {
-            static QMutex mutex;
-            QMutexLocker mutexLocker(&mutex);
-            if (!Globals->classes.contains(valueString))
-                Globals->classes.insert(valueString, Globals->classes.size());
-        }
-    }
-
-    m_metadata.insert(key, value);
-}
-
 void File::set(const QString &key, const QString &value)
 {
     if (value.startsWith('[') && value.endsWith(']')) {
@@ -179,22 +157,27 @@ bool File::getBool(const QString &key, bool defaultValue) const
     return variant.value<bool>();
 }
 
-QString File::subject(int label)
+QString File::subject() const
 {
-    return Globals->classes.key(label, QString::number(label));
+    const QVariant l = m_metadata.value("Label");
+    if (!l.isNull()) return Globals->subjects.key(l.toFloat(), l.toString());
+    return m_metadata.value("Subject").toString();
 }
 
 float File::label() const
 {
-    const QVariant variant = value("Label");
-    if (variant.isNull()) return -1;
+    const QVariant l = m_metadata.value("Label");
+    if (!l.isNull()) return l.toFloat();
 
-    if (Globals->classes.contains(variant.toString()))
-        return Globals->classes.value(variant.toString());
+    const QVariant s = m_metadata.value("Subject");
+    if (s.isNull()) return -1;
 
-    bool ok;
-    const float val = variant.toFloat(&ok);
-    return ok ? val : -1;
+    const QString subject = s.toString();
+    static QMutex mutex;
+    QMutexLocker mutexLocker(&mutex);
+    if (!Globals->subjects.contains(subject))
+        Globals->subjects.insert(subject, Globals->subjects.size());
+    return Globals->subjects.value(subject);
 }
 
 QList<QPointF> File::namedPoints() const
@@ -310,8 +293,6 @@ QDataStream &br::operator<<(QDataStream &stream, const File &file)
 QDataStream &br::operator>>(QDataStream &stream, File &file)
 {
     return stream >> file.name >> file.m_metadata;
-    const QVariant label = file.m_metadata.value("Label");
-    if (!label.isNull()) file.set("Label", label); // Trigger population of Globals->classes
 }
 
 /* FileList - public methods */
@@ -464,14 +445,15 @@ TemplateList TemplateList::fromGallery(const br::File &gallery)
 
 TemplateList TemplateList::relabel(const TemplateList &tl)
 {
-    QHash<int,int> labels;
-    foreach (int label, tl.labels<int>())
-        if (!labels.contains(label))
-            labels.insert(label, labels.size());
+    const QList<int> originalLabels = tl.labels<int>();
+    QHash<int,int> labelTable;
+    foreach (int label, originalLabels)
+        if (!labelTable.contains(label))
+            labelTable.insert(label, labelTable.size());
 
     TemplateList result = tl;
     for (int i=0; i<result.size(); i++)
-        result[i].file.setLabel(labels[result[i].file.label()]);
+        result[i].file.set("Label", labelTable[originalLabels[i]]);
     return result;
 }
 
@@ -681,12 +663,17 @@ void Object::setProperty(const QString &name, const QString &value)
         variant = value;
     }
 
-    if (!QObject::setProperty(qPrintable(name), variant) && !type.isEmpty())
-        qFatal("Failed to set %s::%s to: %s %s",
-               metaObject()->className(), qPrintable(name), qPrintable(value), qPrintable(type));
+    setProperty(name, variant, !type.isEmpty());
+}
+
+void Object::setProperty(const QString &name, const QVariant &value, bool failOnError)
+{
+    if (!QObject::setProperty(qPrintable(name), value) && failOnError)
+        qFatal("Failed to set %s::%s to: %s",
+               metaObject()->className(), qPrintable(name), qPrintable(value.toString()));
 }
 
-QStringList br::Object::parse(const QString &string, char split)
+QStringList Object::parse(const QString &string, char split)
 {
     return QtUtils::parse(string, split);
 }
@@ -738,19 +725,21 @@ void Object::init(const File &file_)
     }
 
     foreach (QString key, file.localKeys()) {
-        const QString value = file.value(key).toString();
+        const QVariant value = file.value(key);
+        const QString valueString = value.toString();
 
         if (key.startsWith(("_Arg"))) {
-            int argument_number =  key.mid(4).toInt();
-            int target_idx = argument_number + firstAvailablePropertyIdx;
-
-            if (target_idx >= metaObject()->propertyCount()) {
-                qWarning("too many arguments for transform, ignoring %s\n", qPrintable(value));
+            int argumentNumber =  key.mid(4).toInt();
+            int targetIdx = argumentNumber + firstAvailablePropertyIdx;
+            if (targetIdx >= metaObject()->propertyCount()) {
+                qWarning("too many arguments for transform %s, ignoring %s", qPrintable(objectName()), qPrintable(valueString));
                 continue;
             }
-            key = metaObject()->property(target_idx).name();
+            key = metaObject()->property(targetIdx).name();
         }
-        setProperty(key, value);
+
+        if (valueString.isEmpty()) setProperty(key, value);       // Set the property directly
+        else                       setProperty(key, valueString); // Parse the value first
     }
 
     init();
@@ -1038,8 +1027,10 @@ MatrixOutput *MatrixOutput::make(const FileList &targetFiles, const FileList &qu
 /* MatrixOutput - protected methods */
 QString MatrixOutput::toString(int row, int column) const
 {
-    if (targetFiles[column] == "Label")
-        return File::subject(data.at<float>(row,column));
+    if (targetFiles[column] == "Label") {
+        const int label = data.at<float>(row,column);
+        return Globals->subjects.key(label, QString::number(label));
+    }
     return QString::number(data.at<float>(row,column));
 }
 
@@ -1085,153 +1076,6 @@ Gallery *Gallery::make(const File &file)
     return gallery;
 }
 
-static TemplateList Downsample(const TemplateList &templates, const Transform *transform)
-{
-    // Return early when no downsampling is required
-    if ((transform->classes == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
-            (transform->instances == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
-            (transform->fraction >= 1))
-        return templates;
-
-    const bool atLeast = transform->instances < 0;
-    const int instances = abs(transform->instances);
-
-    QList<int> allLabels = templates.labels<int>();
-    QList<int> uniqueLabels = allLabels.toSet().toList();
-    qSort(uniqueLabels);
-
-    QMap<int,int> counts = templates.labelCounts(instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max());
-    if ((instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()))
-        foreach (int label, counts.keys())
-            if (counts[label] < instances)
-                counts.remove(label);
-    uniqueLabels = counts.keys();
-    if ((transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (uniqueLabels.size() < transform->classes))
-        qWarning("Downsample requested %d classes but only %d are available.", transform->classes, uniqueLabels.size());
-
-    Common::seedRNG();
-    QList<int> selectedLabels = uniqueLabels;
-    if (transform->classes < uniqueLabels.size()) {
-        std::random_shuffle(selectedLabels.begin(), selectedLabels.end());
-        selectedLabels = selectedLabels.mid(0, transform->classes);
-    }
-
-    TemplateList downsample;
-    for (int i=0; i<selectedLabels.size(); i++) {
-        const int selectedLabel = selectedLabels[i];
-        QList<int> indices;
-        for (int j=0; j<allLabels.size(); j++)
-            if ((allLabels[j] == selectedLabel) && (!templates.value(j).file.get<bool>("FTE", false)))
-                indices.append(j);
-
-        std::random_shuffle(indices.begin(), indices.end());
-        const int max = atLeast ? indices.size() : std::min(indices.size(), instances);
-        for (int j=0; j<max; j++)
-            downsample.append(templates.value(indices[j]));
-    }
-
-    if (transform->fraction < 1) {
-        std::random_shuffle(downsample.begin(), downsample.end());
-        downsample = downsample.mid(0, downsample.size()*transform->fraction);
-    }
-
-    return downsample;
-}
-
-/*!
- * \ingroup transforms
- * \brief Clones the transform so that it can be applied independently.
- *
- * \em Independent transforms expect single-matrix templates.
- */
-class Independent : public MetaTransform
-{
-    Q_PROPERTY(QList<Transform*> transforms READ get_transforms WRITE set_transforms STORED false)
-    BR_PROPERTY(QList<Transform*>, transforms, QList<Transform*>())
-
-    public:
-        /*!
-         * \brief Independent
-         * \param transform
-         */
-        Independent(Transform *transform)
-    {
-        transform->setParent(this);
-        transforms.append(transform);
-        file = transform->file;
-        trainable = transform->trainable;
-        setObjectName(transforms.first()->objectName());
-    }
-
-private:
-    Transform *clone() const
-    {
-        return new Independent(transforms.first()->clone());
-    }
-
-    static void _train(Transform *transform, const TemplateList *data)
-    {
-        transform->train(*data);
-    }
-
-    void train(const TemplateList &data)
-    {
-        // Don't bother if the transform is untrainable
-        if (!trainable) return;
-
-        QList<TemplateList> templatesList;
-        foreach (const Template &t, data) {
-            if ((templatesList.size() != t.size()) && !templatesList.isEmpty())
-                qWarning("Independent::train template %s of size %d differs from expected size %d.", qPrintable(t.file.name), t.size(), templatesList.size());
-            while (templatesList.size() < t.size())
-                templatesList.append(TemplateList());
-            for (int i=0; i<t.size(); i++)
-                templatesList[i].append(Template(t.file, t[i]));
-        }
-
-        while (transforms.size() < templatesList.size())
-            transforms.append(transforms.first()->clone());
-
-        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
-            templatesList[i] = Downsample(templatesList[i], transforms[i]);
-
-        QFutureSynchronizer<void> futures;
-        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
-            futures.addFuture(QtConcurrent::run(_train, transforms[i], &templatesList[i]));
-        futures.waitForFinished();
-    }
-
-    void project(const Template &src, Template &dst) const
-    {
-        dst.file = src.file;
-        QList<Mat> mats;
-        for (int i=0; i<src.size(); i++) {
-            transforms[i%transforms.size()]->project(Template(src.file, src[i]), dst);
-            mats.append(dst);
-            dst.clear();
-        }
-        dst.append(mats);
-    }
-
-    void store(QDataStream &stream) const
-    {
-        const int size = transforms.size();
-        stream << size;
-        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
-            transforms[i]->store(stream);
-    }
-
-    void load(QDataStream &stream)
-    {
-        int size;
-        stream >> size;
-        while (transforms.size() < size)
-            transforms.append(transforms.first()->clone());
-        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
-            transforms[i]->load(stream);
-    }
-};
-
 /* Transform - public methods */
 Transform::Transform(bool _independent, bool _trainable)
 {
@@ -1279,8 +1123,17 @@ Transform *Transform::make(QString str, QObject *parent)
     File f = "." + str;
     Transform *transform = Factory<Transform>::make(f);
 
-    if (transform->independent)
-        transform = new Independent(transform);
+    if (transform->independent) {
+//        Transform *independentTransform = Factory<Transform>::make(".Independent");
+//        static_cast<QObject*>(independentTransform)->setProperty("transform", qVariantFromValue<void*>(transform));
+//        independentTransform->init();
+//        transform = independentTransform;
+
+                File independent(".Independent");
+                independent.set("transform", qVariantFromValue<void*>(transform));
+                transform = Factory<Transform>::make(independent);
+    }
+
     transform->setParent(parent);
     return transform;
 }
diff --git a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
index 2775aee..a7e1a7f 100644
--- a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
+++ b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
@@ -107,11 +107,11 @@ void reset_##NAME() { NAME = DEFAULT; }
  *
  * The br::File is one of the workhorse classes in OpenBR.
  * It is typically used to store the path to a file on disk with associated metadata.
- * The ability to associate a hashtable of metadata with the file helps keep the API simple and stable while providing customizable behavior when appropriate.
+ * The ability to associate a metadata map with the file helps keep the API simple and stable while providing customizable behavior when appropriate.
  *
- * When querying the value of a metadata key, the value will first try to be resolved using the file's private metadata table.
- * If the key does not exist in the local hashtable then it will be resolved using the properities in the global br::Context.
- * This has the desirable effect that file metadata may optionally set globally using br::Context::set to operate on all files.
+ * When querying the value of a metadata key, the value will first try to be resolved using the file's private metadata.
+ * If the key does not exist in the local map then it will be resolved using the properities in the global br::Context.
+ * This has the desirable effect that file metadata may optionally be set globally using br::Context::set to operate on all files.
  *
  * Files have a simple grammar that allow them to be converted to and from strings.
  * If a string ends with a \c ] or \c ) then the text within the final \c [] or \c () are parsed as comma sperated metadata fields.
@@ -119,6 +119,13 @@ void reset_##NAME() { NAME = DEFAULT; }
  * Fields within \c () are expected to have the format <tt>(value1, value2, ..., valueN)</tt> with the keys determined from the order of \c Q_PROPERTY.
  * The rest of the string is assigned to #name.
  *
+ * The metadata keys \c Subject and \c Label have special significance in the system.
+ * \c Subject is a string specifying a unique identifier used to determine ground truth match/non-match.
+ * \c Label is a floating point value used for supervised learning.
+ * When the system needs labels for training, but only subjects are provided in the file metadata, the rule for generating labels is as follows.
+ * If the subject value can be converted to a float then do so and consider that the label.
+ * Otherwise, generate a unique integer ID for the string starting from zero and incrementing by one everytime another ID is needed.
+ *
  * Metadata keys fall into one of two categories:
  * - \c camelCaseKeys are inputs that specify how to process the file.
  * - \c Capitalized_Underscored_Keys are outputs computed from processing the file.
@@ -129,7 +136,8 @@ void reset_##NAME() { NAME = DEFAULT; }
  * ---             | ----           | -----------
  * separator       | QString        | Seperate #name into multiple files
  * Index           | int            | Index of a template in a template list
- * Label           | float          | Classification/Regression class
+ * Subject         | QString        | Class name
+ * Label           | float          | Class value
  * Confidence      | float          | Classification/Regression quality
  * FTE             | bool           | Failure to enroll
  * FTO             | bool           | Failure to open
@@ -153,7 +161,7 @@ struct BR_EXPORT File
 
     File() {}
     File(const QString &file) { init(file); } /*!< \brief Construct a file from a string. */
-    File(const QString &file, const QVariant &label) { init(file); set("Label", label); } /*!< \brief Construct a file from a string and assign a label. */
+    File(const QString &file, const QVariant &subject) { init(file); set("Subject", subject); } /*!< \brief Construct a file from a string and assign a label. */
     File(const char *file) { init(file); } /*!< \brief Construct a file from a c-style string. */
     inline operator QString() const { return name; } /*!< \brief Returns #name. */
     QString flat() const; /*!< \brief A stringified version of the file with metadata. */
@@ -195,7 +203,7 @@ struct BR_EXPORT File
     bool contains(const QString &key) const; /*!< \brief Returns \c true if the key has an associated value, \c false otherwise. */
     QVariant value(const QString &key) const; /*!< \brief Returns the value for the specified key. */
     static QVariant parse(const QString &value); /*!< \brief Try to convert the QString to a QPointF or QRectF if possible. */
-    void set(const QString &key, const QVariant &value); /*!< \brief Insert or overwrite the metadata key with the specified value. */
+    inline void set(const QString &key, const QVariant &value) { m_metadata.insert(key, value); } /*!< \brief Insert or overwrite the metadata key with the specified value. */
     void set(const QString &key, const QString &value); /*!< \brief Insert or overwrite the metadata key with the specified value. */
     inline void remove(const QString &key) { m_metadata.remove(key); } /*!< \brief Remove the metadata key. */
 
@@ -235,10 +243,8 @@ struct BR_EXPORT File
         return variant.value<T>();
     }
 
-    static QString subject(int label); /*!< \brief Looks up the subject for the provided label. */
-    inline QString subject() const { return subject(label()); } /*!< \brief Looks up the subject from the file's label. */
+    QString subject() const; /*!< \brief Looks up the subject from the file's label. */
     float label() const; /*!< \brief Convenience function for retrieving the file's \c Label. */
-    inline void setLabel(float label) { set("Label", label); } /*!< \brief Convenience function for setting the file's \c Label. */
     inline bool failed() const { return getBool("FTE") || getBool("FTO"); } /*!< \brief Returns \c true if the file failed to open or enroll, \c false otherwise. */
 
     QList<QPointF> namedPoints() const; /*!< \brief Returns points convertible from metadata keys. */
@@ -497,6 +503,7 @@ public:
     QString argument(int index) const; /*!< \brief A string value for the argument at the specified index. */
     QString description() const; /*!< \brief Returns a string description of the object. */
     void setProperty(const QString &name, const QString &value); /*!< \brief Overload of QObject::setProperty to handle OpenBR data types. */
+    void setProperty(const QString &name, const QVariant &value, bool failOnError = false); /*!< \brief Overload of QObject::setProperty to handle OpenBR data types. */
     static QStringList parse(const QString &string, char split = ','); /*!< \brief Splits the string while respecting lexical scoping of <tt>()</tt>, <tt>[]</tt>, <tt>\<\></tt>, and <tt>{}</tt>. */
 
 private:
@@ -633,7 +640,7 @@ public:
     BR_PROPERTY(int, crossValidate, 0)
 
     QHash<QString,QString> abbreviations; /*!< \brief Used by br::Transform::make() to expand abbreviated algorithms into their complete definitions. */
-    QHash<QString,int> classes; /*!< \brief Used by classifiers to associate text class labels with unique integers IDs. */
+    QHash<QString,int> subjects; /*!< \brief Used by classifiers to associate text class labels with unique integers IDs. */
     QTime startTime; /*!< \brief Used to estimate timeRemaining(). */
 
     /*!
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/gallery.cpp b/openbr/plugins/gallery.cpp
index 35b6aad..f0bb614 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/gallery.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/gallery.cpp
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ namespace br
  * \ingroup galleries
  * \brief Weka ARFF file format.
  * \author Josh Klontz \cite jklontz
+ * http://weka.wikispaces.com/ARFF+%28stable+version%29
  */
 class arffGallery : public Gallery
 {
@@ -59,19 +60,16 @@ class arffGallery : public Gallery
                            "@RELATION OpenBR\n"
                            "\n");
 
-            arffFile.write("@ATTRIBUTE filename STRING\n");
-            arffFile.write(qPrintable("@ATTRIBUTE class {" + QStringList(Globals->classes.keys()).join(',') + "}\n"));
-
             const int dimensions = t.m().rows * t.m().cols;
             for (int i=0; i<dimensions; i++)
-                arffFile.write(qPrintable("@ATTRIBUTE v" + QString::number(i) + " NUMERIC\n"));
+                arffFile.write(qPrintable("@ATTRIBUTE v" + QString::number(i) + " REAL\n"));
+            arffFile.write(qPrintable("@ATTRIBUTE class {" + QStringList(Globals->subjects.keys()).join(',') + "}\n"));
 
             arffFile.write("\n@DATA\n");
         }
 
-        arffFile.write(qPrintable("'" + t.file.name + "',"));
-        arffFile.write(qPrintable("'" + t.file.subject() + "',"));
-        arffFile.write(qPrintable(OpenCVUtils::matrixToStringList(t).join(',')+"\n"));
+        arffFile.write(qPrintable(OpenCVUtils::matrixToStringList(t).join(',')));
+        arffFile.write(qPrintable(",'" + t.file.subject() + "'\n"));
     }
 };
 
@@ -117,6 +115,8 @@ class galGallery : public Gallery
 
     void write(const Template &t)
     {
+        if (t.isEmpty() && t.file.isNull())
+            return;
         stream << t;
     }
 };
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ class csvGallery : public Gallery
     static QString getCSVElement(const QString &key, const QVariant &value, bool header)
     {
         if ((key == "Label") && !header) {
-            QString stringLabel = Globals->classes.key(value.value<int>());
+            QString stringLabel = Globals->subjects.key(value.value<int>());
             if (stringLabel.isEmpty()) return value.value<QString>();
             else                       return stringLabel;
         } else if (value.canConvert<QString>()) {
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/independent.cpp b/openbr/plugins/independent.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b0153fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openbr/plugins/independent.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+#include <QFutureSynchronizer>
+#include <QtConcurrentRun>
+
+#include "openbr_internal.h"
+#include "openbr/core/common.h"
+
+using namespace cv;
+
+namespace br
+{
+
+static TemplateList Downsample(const TemplateList &templates, const Transform *transform)
+{
+    // Return early when no downsampling is required
+    if ((transform->classes == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
+            (transform->instances == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
+            (transform->fraction >= 1))
+        return templates;
+
+    const bool atLeast = transform->instances < 0;
+    const int instances = abs(transform->instances);
+
+    QList<int> allLabels = templates.labels<int>();
+    QList<int> uniqueLabels = allLabels.toSet().toList();
+    qSort(uniqueLabels);
+
+    QMap<int,int> counts = templates.labelCounts(instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max());
+    if ((instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()))
+        foreach (int label, counts.keys())
+            if (counts[label] < instances)
+                counts.remove(label);
+    uniqueLabels = counts.keys();
+    if ((transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (uniqueLabels.size() < transform->classes))
+        qWarning("Downsample requested %d classes but only %d are available.", transform->classes, uniqueLabels.size());
+
+    Common::seedRNG();
+    QList<int> selectedLabels = uniqueLabels;
+    if (transform->classes < uniqueLabels.size()) {
+        std::random_shuffle(selectedLabels.begin(), selectedLabels.end());
+        selectedLabels = selectedLabels.mid(0, transform->classes);
+    }
+
+    TemplateList downsample;
+    for (int i=0; i<selectedLabels.size(); i++) {
+        const int selectedLabel = selectedLabels[i];
+        QList<int> indices;
+        for (int j=0; j<allLabels.size(); j++)
+            if ((allLabels[j] == selectedLabel) && (!templates.value(j).file.get<bool>("FTE", false)))
+                indices.append(j);
+
+        std::random_shuffle(indices.begin(), indices.end());
+        const int max = atLeast ? indices.size() : std::min(indices.size(), instances);
+        for (int j=0; j<max; j++)
+            downsample.append(templates.value(indices[j]));
+    }
+
+    if (transform->fraction < 1) {
+        std::random_shuffle(downsample.begin(), downsample.end());
+        downsample = downsample.mid(0, downsample.size()*transform->fraction);
+    }
+
+    return downsample;
+}
+
+/*!
+ * \ingroup transforms
+ * \brief Clones the transform so that it can be applied independently.
+ * \author Josh Klontz \cite jklontz
+ * \em Independent transforms expect single-matrix templates.
+ */
+class IndependentTransform : public MetaTransform
+{
+    Q_OBJECT
+    Q_PROPERTY(br::Transform* transform READ get_transform WRITE set_transform STORED false)
+    BR_PROPERTY(br::Transform*, transform, NULL)
+
+    QList<Transform*> transforms;
+
+    void init()
+    {
+        transforms.clear();
+        if (transform == NULL)
+            return;
+
+        transform->setParent(this);
+        transforms.append(transform);
+        file = transform->file;
+        trainable = transform->trainable;
+        setObjectName(transform->objectName());
+    }
+
+    Transform *clone() const
+    {
+        IndependentTransform *independentTransform = new IndependentTransform();
+        independentTransform->transform = transform->clone();
+        independentTransform->init();
+        return independentTransform;
+    }
+
+    static void _train(Transform *transform, const TemplateList *data)
+    {
+        transform->train(*data);
+    }
+
+    void train(const TemplateList &data)
+    {
+        // Don't bother if the transform is untrainable
+        if (!trainable) return;
+
+        QList<TemplateList> templatesList;
+        foreach (const Template &t, data) {
+            if ((templatesList.size() != t.size()) && !templatesList.isEmpty())
+                qWarning("Independent::train template %s of size %d differs from expected size %d.", qPrintable(t.file.name), t.size(), templatesList.size());
+            while (templatesList.size() < t.size())
+                templatesList.append(TemplateList());
+            for (int i=0; i<t.size(); i++)
+                templatesList[i].append(Template(t.file, t[i]));
+        }
+
+        while (transforms.size() < templatesList.size())
+            transforms.append(transform->clone());
+
+        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
+            templatesList[i] = Downsample(templatesList[i], transforms[i]);
+
+        QFutureSynchronizer<void> futures;
+        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
+            futures.addFuture(QtConcurrent::run(_train, transforms[i], &templatesList[i]));
+        futures.waitForFinished();
+    }
+
+    void project(const Template &src, Template &dst) const
+    {
+        dst.file = src.file;
+        QList<Mat> mats;
+        for (int i=0; i<src.size(); i++) {
+            transforms[i%transforms.size()]->project(Template(src.file, src[i]), dst);
+            mats.append(dst);
+            dst.clear();
+        }
+        dst.append(mats);
+    }
+
+    void store(QDataStream &stream) const
+    {
+        const int size = transforms.size();
+        stream << size;
+        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
+            transforms[i]->store(stream);
+    }
+
+    void load(QDataStream &stream)
+    {
+        int size;
+        stream >> size;
+        while (transforms.size() < size)
+            transforms.append(transform->clone());
+        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
+            transforms[i]->load(stream);
+    }
+};
+
+BR_REGISTER(Transform, IndependentTransform)
+
+} // namespace br
+
+#include "independent.moc"
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/mask.cpp b/openbr/plugins/mask.cpp
index f9979e8..8b86221 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/mask.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/mask.cpp
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ class LargestConvexAreaTransform : public UntrainableTransform
             if (area / hullArea > 0.98)
                 maxArea = std::max(maxArea, area);
         }
-        dst.file.setLabel(maxArea);
+        dst.file.set("Label", maxArea);
     }
 };
 
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp b/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp
index a018244..94ae184 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */
 
 #include <QFutureSynchronizer>
+#include <QRegularExpression>
 #include <QtConcurrentRun>
 #include "openbr_internal.h"
 #include "openbr/core/common.h"
@@ -440,7 +441,7 @@ private:
         const QString &file = src.file;
         if (cache.contains(file)) {
             dst = cache[file];
-            dst.file.setLabel(src.file.label());
+            dst.file.set("Label", src.file.label());
         } else {
             transform->project(src, dst);
             cacheLock.lock();
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/misc.cpp b/openbr/plugins/misc.cpp
index f84e7ea..7b9225f 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/misc.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/misc.cpp
@@ -423,6 +423,51 @@ class RelabelTransform : public UntrainableMetaTransform
 
 BR_REGISTER(Transform, RelabelTransform)
 
+/*!
+ * \ingroup transforms
+ * \brief Remove templates with the specified file extension.
+ * \author Josh Klontz \cite jklontz
+ */
+class RemoveTemplatesTransform : public UntrainableMetaTransform
+{
+    Q_OBJECT
+    Q_PROPERTY(QString regexp READ get_regexp WRITE set_regexp RESET reset_regexp STORED false)
+    BR_PROPERTY(QString, regexp, "")
+
+    void project(const Template &src, Template &dst) const
+    {
+        const QRegularExpression re(regexp);
+        const QRegularExpressionMatch match = re.match(src.file.suffix());
+        if (match.hasMatch()) dst = Template();
+        else                  dst = src;
+    }
+};
+
+BR_REGISTER(Transform, RemoveTemplatesTransform)
+
+/*!
+ * \ingroup transforms
+ * \brief Remove template metadata with the specified key(s).
+ * \author Josh Klontz \cite jklontz
+ */
+class RemoveMetadataTransform : public UntrainableMetaTransform
+{
+    Q_OBJECT
+    Q_PROPERTY(QString regexp READ get_regexp WRITE set_regexp RESET reset_regexp STORED false)
+    BR_PROPERTY(QString, regexp, "")
+
+    void project(const Template &src, Template &dst) const
+    {
+        dst = src;
+        const QRegularExpression re(regexp);
+        foreach (const QString &key, dst.file.localKeys())
+            if (re.match(key).hasMatch())
+                dst.file.remove(key);
+    }
+};
+
+BR_REGISTER(Transform, RemoveMetadataTransform)
+
 }
 
 #include "misc.moc"
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/output.cpp b/openbr/plugins/output.cpp
index 33c1f75..e07a78b 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/output.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/output.cpp
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ class rankOutput : public MatrixOutput
             typedef QPair<float,int> Pair;
             int rank = 1;
             foreach (const Pair &pair, Common::Sort(OpenCVUtils::matrixToVector<float>(data.row(i)), true)) {
-                if(targetFiles[pair.second].get<QString>("Label") == queryFiles[i].get<QString>("Label")) {
+                if (targetFiles[pair.second].get<QString>("Subject") == queryFiles[i].get<QString>("Subject")) {
                     ranks.append(rank);
                     positions.append(pair.second);
                     scores.append(pair.first);
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/pixel.cpp b/openbr/plugins/pixel.cpp
index a4795f4..6d5c140 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/pixel.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/pixel.cpp
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ class PerPixelClassifierTransform : public MetaTransform
                 }
                 cv::Mat labelMat = src.file.value("labels").value<cv::Mat>();
                 uchar* plabel = labelMat.ptr();
-                temp.file.setLabel(plabel[index]);
+                temp.file.set("Label", plabel[index]);
 
                 if (orient){
                     Template rotated;
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp b/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp
index 470201f..614273f 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ private:
     void project(const Template &src, Template &dst) const
     {
         dst = src;
-        dst.file.setLabel((svm.predict(src.m().reshape(0, 1)) - b)/a);
+        dst.file.set("Label", ((svm.predict(src.m().reshape(0, 1)) - b)/a));
     }
 
     void store(QDataStream &stream) const
diff --git a/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh b/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh
index bfb2156..544aed7 100755
--- a/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh
+++ b/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh
@@ -18,14 +18,5 @@ fi
 # Run Algorithm on MEDS
 br -algorithm ${ALGORITHM} -path ../data/MEDS/img -compare ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_target.xml ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_query.xml ${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.mtx -eval ${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.mtx MEDS.mask Algorithm_Dataset/${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.csv
 
-# Evaluate other algorithms
-for ALGORITHM in COTS
-do
-  if [ ! -e Algorithm_Dataset/${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.csv ]; then
-    br -eval ../data/MEDS/simmat/${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.mtx MEDS.mask Algorithm_Dataset/${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.csv &
-  fi
-done
-wait
-
 # Plot results
 br -plot Algorithm_Dataset/*_MEDS.csv MEDS
diff --git a/share/openbr/cmake/FindAlphanum.cmake b/share/openbr/cmake/FindAlphanum.cmake
index 8c58ae1..64b2efa 100644
--- a/share/openbr/cmake/FindAlphanum.cmake
+++ b/share/openbr/cmake/FindAlphanum.cmake
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 find_path(ALPHANUM_DIR alphanum.hpp ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/3rdparty/*)
+mark_as_advanced(ALPHANUM_DIR)
 include_directories(${ALPHANUM_DIR})